Chapter 550: Even Administration Has Its Merits
After sending Zhang Yu off to his online class, Gui Yuanzi sent a message to Jin Jun.
Gui Yuanzi: “All arranged. He’s obediently attending his online class now.”
Jin Jun: “Thank you, Senior Brother. I’ll repay you handsomely.”
Gui Yuanzi nodded slightly at Jin Jun’s reply and responded: “Spirit Coins will suffice.”
As an aging Golden Core cultivator, Gui Yuanzi’s technical skills were increasingly falling behind the new generation of Golden Core True Persons.
He had considered trying to compete, to grind, to push himself harder, but he realized that the newly advanced Golden Core cultivators at the school were all smarter, more talented, more qualified, and better connected than him.
Falling further behind, he was now relegated to teaching courses like History of Artifact Refinement Techniques, and his personal projects and experiments were struggling to progress.
Gui Yuanzi estimated it was only a matter of time before he was forced out of the Artifact Refinement Department and transferred to some dead-end department like Security or Transportation.
But he had come to terms with this. He no longer bothered competing with the other Golden Core cultivators, focusing instead on making money. As long as it was legal, he was willing to do anything for cash.
Make more money, live a few more years. That was his only ambition now.
To him, helping a student like Zhang Yu legally make up his class hours was a trivial matter.
Seeing Zhang Yu still obediently attending class, Gui Yuanzi thought to himself, “Is this kid stupid? Actually paying attention to the lecture? Doesn’t he know to slip me some money?”
“Or was my hint not clear enough?”
Just as Gui Yuanzi was contemplating whether to give Zhang Yu another, more explicit hint, he noticed Zhang Yu abruptly leave the Spirit Realm classroom, exiting the online lecture he had initiated.
“Huh?” Gui Yuanzi was momentarily stunned, then erupted in fury. “This kid just skipped my class right in front of me?!”
To Gui Yuanzi, such blatant truancy was a direct slap in the face.
He immediately sent Zhang Yu a message: “Where are you?”
Gui Yuanzi: “Get back to class immediately.”
Gui Yuanzi: “Otherwise, you can forget about passing this course.”
At that moment, Gui Yuanzi’s Bionic Eye flashed, and he saw a message from Feng Yuhuan, the director of the Research Department.
As the department head, Feng Yuhuan oversaw Gui Yuanzi’s applications for project funding and loans, making him a crucial superior — a leader Gui Yuanzi could never afford to offend.
Seeing the message, Gui Yuanzi’s heart tightened. “I’ll deal with Zhang Yu later.”
He immediately exited the Spirit Realm and hurried to the Research Department’s office.
Upon entering, he found Feng Yuhuan’s Bionic Eye flickering with light patterns, as if he were processing some urgent matter.
Gui Yuanzi saw the image of a low-level Intelligent Artifact Spirit assistant materialize before him. The artifact spirit said, “Teacher Gui Yuanzi, Director Feng is currently occupied. Please wait a moment.”
Gui Yuanzi nodded and sat down to wait.
Two full hours passed before Feng Yuhuan finally glanced at him and tossed a file onto the desk.
“This funding application is improperly prepared. Take it back and rewrite it. Bring it back to me tonight.”
Gui Yuanzi froze for a moment, then grew anxious.
Though he oversaw few projects and his funding was modest, at least half of every grant ended up in his own pocket, a crucial source of his current income.
Hearing the application needed rewriting, Gui Yuanzi quickly asked, “Director Feng, please tell me what’s wrong. I’ll revise it immediately…”
Feng Yuhuan frowned impatiently. “Everything’s wrong. Rewrite the whole thing.”
“That’s all. Leave now. Don’t waste my time.”
“If I don’t receive your revised application by 10 PM tonight, consider your funding request withdrawn.”
Back in his laboratory, Gui Yuanzi realized he had indeed been too careless with the application, which was why the Research Department had rejected it.
He poured his heart and soul into rewriting the entire document, meticulously crafting it until he believed it was flawless. Then, he sent it to Feng Yuhuan.
Feng Yuhuan glanced at the file without looking up and said, “Still unacceptable.”
Gui Yuanzi was taken aback. “Huh?”
Feng Yuhuan’s voice turned icy. “Gui Yuanzi, do you even want this funding application?”
“Take it back and rewrite it.”
“Write it properly this time. Think carefully about where you went wrong.”
Dazed and confused, Gui Yuanzi returned to his workshop and frantically searched for reference materials and sought guidance from others on his writing.
The next day, he nervously submitted the revised document again.
But as soon as Gui Yuanzi sent the file, Feng Yuhuan let out a cold snort, and a bolt of lightning flashed in his eyes, striking Gui Yuanzi directly.
“Gui Yuanzi, you’re a veteran of the Artifact Refinement Department. I could forgive your outdated techniques, but now you can’t even write a proper funding application?”
Gui Yuanzi pleaded helplessly, “Director Feng, just tell me what’s wrong…”
Feng Yuhuan’s voice dripped with disdain. “You need me to teach you how to write something this simple? Have you wasted your entire life? You’ve completely disgraced the Golden Core realm.”
Gui Yuanzi never expected Feng Yuhuan to unleash such a scathing tirade.
Looking at the director, who was even younger than himself, Gui Yuanzi felt a surge of Magic Power in his chest. As the Magic Power surged, the holographic images in his Bionic Eye flickered and danced.
But remembering that his funding was still in the director’s hands, Gui Yuanzi forced himself to suppress his displeasure and continued to endure the reprimand.
“You old Golden Core cultivators, clinging to past glories, managed to scrape by and achieve Golden Core status. Yet you show no gratitude to the school or the sect, wasting your days year after year. You’re just getting more senile as time goes on.”
After another round of criticism, Feng Yuhuan pointed to the desk beside him. “Write your report here. Show it to me immediately when you’re done. Ask me directly if you have any questions.”
Gui Yuanzi gritted his teeth and, like a student, sat quietly in a corner of the office, silently writing his report.
Moments later, another person entered the office — Zhang Yu.
“Zhang Yu’s here?” Feng Yuhuan chuckled. “I’ve already received your experimental loan application and had it approved. You didn’t need to come in person.”
Zhang Yu replied, “Thank you, Teacher Feng.”
Feng Yuhuan nodded. “Don’t forget to participate in True Monarch Magnetic Pole and True Monarch String Tone’s projects on time. If you encounter any problems, let me know, and I’ll do my best to help you resolve them.”
Zhang Yu smiled faintly, surprised that Feng Yuhuan had acted so swiftly after he mentioned yesterday that Gui Yuanzi’s tutoring might interfere with his participation in the Spirit Transformation Bionic experiments.
From Feng Yuhuan’s perspective, he had already compressed Zhang Yu’s experimental schedule to its absolute limit. Any further delays would bring the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Artifact Refinement Department down on him again.
As for the history of Artifact Refinement Techniques… was that even a proper course?
He glanced at Gui Yuanzi, thinking that next year he would propose making it a self-study course and kicking Gui Yuanzi over to the Transportation Department to deliver packages, saving the Artifact Refinement Department from wasting funds on him.
Cultivating a good relationship with Zhang Yu, on the other hand, seemed like an excellent idea. As a follower of an Evil God, Feng Yuhuan was gradually realizing that befriending those aligned with the Righteous Gods was the true path for Evil Gods — the proper conduct for a devotee.
“Zhang Yu has connections to the Righteous Gods,” Feng Yuhuan thought. “Getting on his good side could help me with my future work as an Evil God follower.”
As Gui Yuanzi watched the two exchange pleasantries, a thunderbolt seemed to strike his mind. He thought, “This kid Zhang Yu is on such good terms with Director Feng?”
“Jin Jun! You’ve ruined me!”
After mentally cursing Jin Jun, Gui Yuanzi turned to Zhang Yu and began, “Zhang Yu…”
“What are you saying?” Feng Yuhuan shot him a cold glance. “Focus on writing your report.”
Seeing Gui Yuanzi’s obedient demeanor, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but admit to himself, “There’s something to be said for administrative teachers. Some projects and teachers in University City really need proper management — they deserve a firm hand.”
Shortly after leaving Feng Yuhuan’s office, Zhang Yu received a message from Gui Yuanzi.
Gui Yuanzi: “Student Yu, I acted impulsively the other day.”
Gui Yuanzi: “From now on, come to my classes whenever you like, take leave whenever you need to. I’ll give you full marks every time.”
Zhang Yu: “Teacher, just approve my leave requests through the normal channels.”
Zhang Yu: “As for my grades, give me whatever I earn. Please don’t show me any special treatment.”
With Gui Yuanzi’s problem resolved, Zhang Yu once again threw himself wholeheartedly into building the prototype mechanism.
Jin Jun’s laboratory.
Under the guidance of a highly paid teacher, Jin Jun felt his refining process had become significantly more efficient. Any oversight or error in each step was immediately pointed out, making him feel he was improving every second.
With the final adjustments completed, the prototype mechanism before him had finally been successfully refined, achieving a level 5 rating upon completion.
Jin Jun nodded in satisfaction as he reviewed the test data. He opened the Bionic Eye’s friend interface and saw that Gui Yuanzi had accepted the transfer he had sent.
He then sent Gui Yuanzi a message, but received the notification: “You are no longer friends with this user.”
Jin Jun paused, slightly stunned. “Did he delete me as a friend?”
Frowning, Jin Jun couldn’t figure out what had happened. But as he glanced at the level 5 prototype mechanism beside him, a smile returned to his face.
Based on what he had learned from Su Yunni over the past few days, Zhang Yu, after completing the Level 1 prototype mechanism, had become obsessed with speed and material accumulation. The entire project felt chaotic.
In Jin Jun’s eyes, this exposed Zhang Yu’s true skill level and unstable mindset, causing the laboratory’s rhythm to descend into further disarray.
“A Civil Engineering Student is just a Civil Engineering Student,” Jin Jun sneered. “When it comes to real artifact refinement skills, they’re completely outmatched.”
Over the next month, Jin Jun, under the guidance of a highly paid teacher, made rapid progress. The improvements to his prototype mechanism proceeded smoothly, his condition improved steadily, and the laboratory operated with organized efficiency. His confidence in securing the Military Certificate grew daily.
Mid-January.
Ye Xingli’s laboratory.
With the final restriction activated, Zhang Yu watched as the prototype mechanism before him blazed with light, a flicker of joy in his heart.
He had finally upgraded this Heavenly Sun Radiance God prototype mechanism to Level 11.